Screens

from San Antonio Current — November 3, 2022

Music

Soaking Up Cinematic Wisdom

Former San Antonian Darren Le Gallo directs Dustin Hoff man and Sissy Spacek in debut feature Sam & Kate

BY KIKO MARTINEZ

Some of the earliest memories fi lmmaker and artist Darren Le Gallo has of his time living in San Antonio include going to the cinema to watch Robert Altman’s 1980 musical comedy Popeye and Steven Spielberg’s 1981 adventure fi lm Raiders of the Lost Ark.

“I remember at a young age being completely in love with going to a theater and ge ing lost in another world,” Le Gallo, 48, told the Current during a recent interview.

In his directorial feature debut Sam & Kate, Le Gallo — the husband of six-time Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Adams (Vice) — off ers viewers a glimpse into an authentic and emotionally resonant world he created. Sam & Kate stars two-time Academy Award winner Dustin Hoff man (Rain Man) and Academy Award winner Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner’s Daughter). Hoff man’s real-life son, Jake Hoff man, plays his son Sam, while Spacek’s real-life daughter, Schuyler Fisk, plays her daughter Kate. The fi lm also features Alamo City native Henry Thomas (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial).

“It was just a wild, serendipitous thing that happened,” Le Gallo said about the casting.

In the movie, Sam and Kate meet-cute at a bookstore. After Kate initially rebuff s Sam’s request for a date, he asks her out a few more times. Later, Sam’s father Bill (Hoff man) and Kate’s mother Tina (Spacek) begin to develop their own romance. Le Gallo said Sam & Kate was inspired by early Cameron Crowe and John Hughes fi lms including Say Anything and The Breakfast Club.

“There’s something about their fi lms that encapsulated that time period when they were made,” he said. “I thought, ‘What if I tried to approach it the same way, but aged everybody up?’ I wanted to take people who have real-world experiences and give them a second chance.”

Born in Landstuhl, Germany, in 1974, Le Gallo was 4 years old when his family moved to San Antonio, his father’s latest station while serving in the Air Force. Le Gallo graduated from Clark High School in 1992 and attended Abilene Christian University where he earned his bachelor’s in painting. He moved to Los Angeles soon after to see if his art degree could land him a job in Hollywood.

Sam & Kate is currently available on VOD.

Vertical Entertainment

What were your plans when you moved to Los Angeles?

I knew I wanted to do art. I had a friend whose brother and sister-in-law were in the [entertainment] business, so we went to LA during spring break, and I got to visit sets and see things. That’s when I realized [making movies] was a job. I hadn’t ever considered it. After that trip, part of me was like, “Oh, maybe I could be an animator.” I got an interview at DreamWorks right when the company was forming and saw how hard it was to be an animator. So, that led me to fi nding my way into acting. Since then, I’ve progressively started to gain knowledge behind the camera.

Where did you fi nd inspiration for directing?

You know, I’ve been fortunate to travel with my wife, who works with incredible directors. I’ve had the chance to shadow a lot of them on sets and watch them work. I met [fi lmmaker] Spike Jonze when he worked with Amy [on the 2013 fi lm Her]. I had a conversation with him, and we just sat and spoke about his process. I became friendly with [fi lmmaker] Joe Wright [who directed Adams in the 2021 fi lm The Woman in the Window]. I watched [fi lmmaker] Paul Thomas Anderson [on the set of The Master] and learned from him. There are all these pearls of wisdom that I’ve taken with me.

Is it safe to assume that since you’re a visual artist, you consider fi lmmaking an art form?

Totally. I feel like it’s all connected. I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to work with such a talented crew and cast. It’s challenged me to step up. It reminds me of when I was living in San Antonio. I used to play a lot of basketball on the playground. My goal was always to try playing with people who were way be er than me. So, I’d have kids dunking on me, and I’d get my shot blocked, but it made me a be er player through the years. In [this industry], I get to play with people who are legit and get to collaborate with them.

Now, I have to ask if you’re a Spurs fan or if you switched over to the Lakers when you moved to LA.

I’m always a Spurs fan, but I do have a lot of love for the Lakers and the Clippers. Growing up, I was a huge Chicago Bulls fan. I love Michael Jordan. It was a great time in the NBA back then when you had players like Jordan and [David] Robinson. It was such a unique period in basketball history.

Would you want to direct Amy in a fi lm?

Well, I’ll say this: she’s going to be the fi rst one to read this scary fi lm [I’m writing]. She’s played some dark roles before, but I don’t know where she’ll be in her mind, or if she’ll be in a place where it’s something she’ll want to do, but she’ll read it. I think if the timing is right and if it was a character she was intrigued by, we would have a lot of fun.